Former Express editor-at-large Keith Smith died yesterday after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 65.

He leaves to mourn his mother, Brownie; brother, Gregory; sister, Kathleen; and god-brother, Virgil.

Smith went on pre-retirement leave from the Trinidad Express and retired formally from the newspaper in November 2010 and celebrated his 65th birthday on November 20. In a career that spanned 45 years, Smith had served as editor of the now defunct Express evening paper The Sun, the Daily Express and the Sunday Express. He was an inspiration to a younger generation of journalists.

Smith began his journalism career in the mid-1960s with the advent of the British-owned Daily Mirror. When it closed, he was one of the former journalists of that newspaper who came together to form the Trinidad Express. He blazed a trail in entertainment reporting on Carnival, calypso and pan. He went on to carve out a reputation with his daily, long-running Keith Smith column, becoming, without apology, the country's most popular columnist, delighting all with a clever mix of local and standard English, delivered in a down-to-earth style. During the 1980's, he courageously wrote several articles on his battle and recovery from cocaine addiction.

He was an early member of the Tapia House Group and had a long-standing friendship and collaboration with its founder and leader, the late Lloyd Best.

In 2006, he was presented with a trophy by the Trinidad and Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA), in recognition of his all-round contribution to both the administrative and creative sides of journalism, with particular reference being made to the column described as "a rich chronicle of the anthropological, social and political landscape of Trinidad and Tobago".

In 2008, he was honoured by the One Caribbean Media Group (of which the Trinidad Express is a subsidiary) for his contribution to the profession. In 2009, he received a national award, the Humming Bird Medal (silver), for his contribution to journalism in T&T. On that occasion, he had humbly said, "I am very appreciative that the work over the past 45 years seems to have been appreciated at various levels."